


Not That Different, You and I

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, First Time, Frottage, Humor, M/M, Masturbation, Mental Health Issues, Romance, Tails, monkey!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:52:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A genetic mutation in Merlin's DNA makes him part monkey. This causes dating to be a little challenging.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The irony was never lost on Merlin whenever he ate a banana. He shifted on the bench to accommodate his tail and pulled more of the peel down for another bite. The monkeys behind the glass next to him screeched with envy and he turned to give them an apologetic smile.

When he turned back around, he saw a young woman with frizzy blonde hair rushing into the exhibit with her arms outstretched and a grin on her face. Merlin couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. It was nice when more than just kids were so excited by zoo animals.

“Oh Arthur, look, lookit the monkeys!” she exclaimed and pointed towards the relaxing primates. “Aren’t they just adorable?”

That’s when Merlin noticed the blond man standing next to her. He wore designer shades that he hadn’t bothered to take off, probably because he expected the girl with him to get tired of these animals just as quickly as the rest and they’d be heading back outside. Even without being able to see the man’s eyes, Merlin could tell by his body language that he was less than thrilled to be here.

“Very,” the man drawled in a posh voice. One of the hands stuffed in his pockets emerged with an expensive phone and he looked at it while his date continued cooing over the monkeys.

There was a tap on the glass behind Merlin. Merlin looked over his shoulder and found the teenaged monkey Timothy staring back at him.

“What?” Merlin asked.

Just then Timothy’s eyes darted to the right and Merlin quickly followed his gaze. Two of the other monkeys—the siblings, Gwen and Elyan—were wrestling. Merlin could tell right away it wasn’t a real fight, just a show they were putting on for their audience. And it was working; the blonde woman was laughing and clapping at the spectacle.

“Aw, don’t mind them,” Merlin told Timothy. He knew the monkey couldn’t hear him from behind the thick glass, but that had never really mattered before. They understood each other because...well, because Merlin was a bit of a monkey himself.

He turned again and this time he was faced with the startling blue eyes of the blond man staring back at him from across the exhibit hall. Merlin looked somewhere else and finished off his banana with one large bite. When he chanced another glance in the man’s direction, he found him to be wide-eyed and gaping.

Merlin blushed. He could imagine what it had looked like, catching the eye of a handsome man and then practically deep-throating a banana. But he hadn’t meant it to come off as flirtation!

Finished with his lunch, Merlin threw the peel in the nearby bin, brushed the front of his trousers off, and stood. He tried to subtly adjust his trousers for his tail as he headed for the employee exit behind the exhibit. He could feel the man’s eyes on him the whole time.

When he re-entered on the other side of the glass to feed the monkeys, the blond couple was still there. Timothy came up to Merlin and tugged on his shirt, so Merlin obligingly walked over to separate the still fighting Gwen and Elyan. He gave them each stern looks before leading them by the hand to the feeding area. The rest knew to follow.

After lunch the monkeys always played. When Merlin was younger he had been amazed by how smart they were, that they were intelligent enough to have a routine. He still enjoyed playing with them, and they liked him too.

Merlin was sitting cross-legged and tossing a ball back and forth with Gwen when he heard the muffled voice of a female. He looked out the glass to his left and saw the blonde woman was still there. He couldn’t make out the words, but from her expression and where she was pointing it looked like she wanted to play with the monkeys too.

Her posh date rubbed the back of his neck and gave her an apologetic look. He said something that was also muffled and she turned downcast back to watching Merlin.

“You want to play?” Merlin mouthed at her and held up the blue ball. She immediately brightened and nodded excitedly.

Merlin stood and stretched his hand out to Gwen. She took it and he began leading her to the fenced outside area. The blonde woman followed on the other side of the glass.

“Ohmygosh, thank you _so_ much!” she squealed when they met up outside. The man with her walked behind her at a leisurely pace.

“I don’t have to pay for this, do I?” he asked.

Merlin fought the urge to roll his eyes. The bloke was obviously wealthy, and had no right to be worried about money.

“No. I’m not technically supposed to let people do this but...” Merlin shrugged and handed the woman the ball. “Here.”

He let go of Gwen’s hand and Gwen immediately protested. Her hairy little hands clung to the hem of Merlin’s shirt and she looked up at him with a pleading expression.

“It’s alright, Gwen. Just catch it and throw it back like you do with me,” he soothed her. “I’ll be right here.”

“What did you say its name was?” the young woman asked.

“Gwen. What’s yours?”

“Elena.”

Merlin smiled and looked back down at Gwen. “See Gwen? This is Elena. Doesn’t she look nice? You be nice too, okay?” Gwen blinked, which Merlin took to mean acceptance. “Shake and promise.” He held out his hand. Gwen licked her palm before shaking and Merlin rolled his eyes but laughed.

When he looked up, Elena’s eyes were bright and eager. Merlin took a few steps to the side and said, “Alright, go ahead. I’ll give you five minutes. Like I said, I really shouldn’t be doing this.”

She nodded and lightly tossed the ball. Gwen caught it and she clapped excitedly.

Merlin leaned back against the fence that separated them. A voice behind him made him jump.

“That’s very nice of you.” It was Elena’s date. What had she called him? Arthur.

“It’s nothing,” Merlin replied. “I think they get tired of having just me and my uncle to entertain them. And I could tell Elena’s really into them. Always a pleasure to help out a fellow primate enthusiast.”

“Hmm. You’re very good with them.”

Merlin grinned. “Thanks. The monkeys and I, we...sort of have this understanding.”

“I could tell. You’re a bit ape-ish yourself.”

“Oh no, that’s just because I haven’t shaved in a few days.” Merlin rubbed the scruff over his jaw. “I normally look just as human as you and her.”

Arthur tilted his head, as if trying to imagine Merlin without the beard. “No. I think it’s the ears. Definitely the ears.”

Merlin gaped and Arthur laughed. It was the first real emotion he’d seen portrayed on the harsh face and it made him look...

Merlin swallowed. Arthur wasn’t single. Into blokes, probably, judging from the way he’d reacted when Merlin finished off his banana. Merlin could always spot one of his own. But Elena was obviously his girlfriend, and Merlin wasn’t going to get between them.

“I guess that’s why they trust me so much then,” Merlin answered. “If I’m as much like them as you seem to think I am.”

“You _do_ have a taste for bananas.”

Merlin picked up on the hidden meaning and said, “Yes, I do.”

“I figured, since you’re so good at...at eating them.”

Merlin felt his heart jump and scolded himself. He was flirting! And Arthur was playing right along! He really shouldn’t continue, especially if Arthur was the type of man that flirted shamelessly while his partner was occupied not two metres away, but there was just something about the way he looked at Merlin, as though he wanted to strip him and have him all to himself.

“And are you a fan of them as well?” Merlin asked, directing his attention back to the happy Gwen.

It proved to be a bad decision because now Arthur’s voice was right in his ear. “I eat them every now and then. Though recently I’ve been thinking I could use the potassium.”

Merlin couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the terrible joke. It came out louder than he’d meant it to and Elena looked over at him.

“Are you two laughing at me?” she questioned with a friendly smile.

“No, no. Sorry, he just...told me a joke,” Merlin replied. He was still chuckling even though he felt bad for lying. Elena shrugged and went back to playing with Gwen.

“I’m Arthur.” Arthur held out his hand and Merlin reached over the fence to shake it.

“Ah, better use the left. Gwen-slobber on this one, sorry.” Arthur switched to his left hand and they shook.

“Have you got a mobile on you?”

Merlin dug around in his pocket and pulled it out. “Yeah, why?” He knew for a fact Arthur had one of his own, much better than Merlin’s outdated model.

Arthur took it and flipped it open. “I think there’s something wrong with it.” He punched a few buttons and handed it back after a moment. “There, it’s fixed.”

Merlin looked at the screen and smiled. “Your number.”

“Yeah, you didn’t have it.” Arthur grinned back and Merlin’s heart leapt into his throat.

“What about Elena?” he had mind enough to ask.

Arthur’s smile faded. “Oh, her. She’s just the daughter of one of my father’s clients. My father would really like it if we got together but I’m just not feeling it. So, text me sometime?”

Merlin felt as though the heavens had opened and cast Arthur in a golden light. It might have just been the sun peeking from behind the clouds.

“Y-Yeah. Definitely.”

“Great.” Arthur looked suddenly serious. “There’s just one thing.”

“What?”

“I think there’s something wrong with my mobile as well.” He held out his palm and in it was the sleek black phone Merlin had seen earlier.

Laughing, Merlin took it and entered his number. “Try it now.”

Arthur looked at it and smiled. “Ah, much better. Merlin, huh? That’s...unique.” Merlin raised an eyebrow. “I mean, why be named after a bird when you’re so obviously a chimp?”

“I am _not_ a chimp. And there’s a huge difference between chimpanzees and monkeys, just so you know,” Merlin said.

“That being?”

“Monkeys have tails. Chimps don’t.”

“Uh huh. So you _are_ a chimp then. Unless you’re hiding a tail under those trousers.” Arthur said it jokingly but Merlin still blushed and panicked.

“N-No. Obviously not.”

Arthur tilted his head again, then laughed after a moment. “Calm down, Merlin. I wasn’t being serious.”

“I know.”

Just then Gwen decided it would be funny to throw the ball at Merlin’s head. She screeched and clapped when it bounced off and knocked his hair askew.

“Hey! What did I say about being nice?” he chastised her. He left Arthur to pick up the ball and turned to Elena. “That’s probably a sign that she wants to go in. I should—”

“Oh, no, no, I totally understand! Thank you so much for this!” She reached across the fence and pulled Merlin into a tight hug. Her arms were tight around his neck and he had trouble breathing.

“Oh, um,” he gasped for air, “it was no problem, really. Um.”

Elena let go. “Come on, Arthur, I want to see the lions before the zoo closes.” She tugged insistently on Arthur’s hand until finally he let himself be led away. “G’bye Monkey Man!” she waved over her shoulder at Merlin.

Merlin laughed and waved back. He was just about to turn and go inside when Arthur looked back and mouthed “Call me!” Beside him, Gwen clapped.

“Oh shut up, Gwen, I’m still mad at you.”

She just stretched her lips and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

_-do you like meat?-_

Merlin was just taking off his trousers to free his tail when he got the text.

_-is that another terrible euphemism?-_

He tossed his mobile on the bed before going to use the toilet. When he came back, there was a reply.

_-no. you work with animals. this is me asking if you have trouble eating them.-_

_-oh. yeah, i’m a vegetarian. does this mean you’re taking me to dinner?-_

_-now you’ve ruined it. i was going to ask and it was going to be romantic.-_

_-you could still ask.-_

Merlin didn’t get a reply. He stayed awake until nearly midnight reading and watching television—anything to distract him so he wouldn’t worry that he really had ruined it. Finally he couldn’t keep his eyes open and fell asleep on the sofa.

His inbox offered no relief the next morning. He put the kettle on, dragged himself into the shower, and dressed for work. After a quick breakfast spent glaring at his phone across the table, he stuffed his tail into his trouser leg and left.

He was cranky and irritable, completely unlike how he usually was. His uncle Gaius asked him if he was feeling alright, to which he replied, “I didn’t get much sleep. I’m fine.”

It was mid-afternoon on a Monday, so the crowd was thin. Merlin left the gate open so the monkeys could roam as they wished. He set out their lunch and went to round up the ones outside when he was greeted by Gwen at the gate.

“Hello Gwen.” She was holding something in her right hand, clutching it to her chest like it was precious. Merlin knelt down. “What have you got there?” He glanced past her but there was nobody at the fence. The last thing he needed was someone throwing rubbish into the exhibit.

Gwen lip-smiled and held out her hand in offering. Merlin took it. It was a folded piece of paper.

Merlin gasped. It had his name on it and he knew immediately who it was from.

_Would you like to go to dinner with me this Friday?_

_-A_

_P.S. please say yes, I’ve already made the reservation._

As soon as Merlin smiled Gwen started clapping and stomping her feet. Elyan threw a fistful of dirt at her to make her quit and Merlin was reminded where he was. Right. He’d been about to feed them.

He didn’t play with them after lunch. Instead, he texted Arthur.

_-okay. where and when?-_

Merlin didn’t get an immediate answer, but he figured this time it was because Arthur was driving back to work. He’d probably come out during his own lunch break to pull his little stunt. Merlin’s mood was noticeably improved the rest of the day. And the rest of the week.

*

Merlin showed up six minutes late and he felt terrible. He hadn’t been able to find any trousers loose (and appropriate) enough to wear. Unlike at the zoo, he couldn’t show up in joggers, and the fabric of normal slacks wouldn’t entirely hide the outline of his tail swinging beside his leg.

Finally he decided on a loose shirt, a crimson button-down, and left it untucked. The restaurant wasn’t so formal that it called for a suit and tie, thankfully. He coiled his tail around his waist like a belt and secured it with tape—that would be a pain to rip off later.

“Sorry!” Merlin immediately apologised when he sat down at the table the hostess led him to. Arthur looked amazing in his black collared shirt, but didn’t look at all bothered that Merlin was late.

“I haven’t been here that long. It’s fine.” Arthur shrugged and offered a smile.

“Perfect.” Merlin wasn’t sure if he was saying that in response or commenting on how that smile made Arthur look in that moment.

It was a pleasant meal. Arthur was actually very funny; he didn’t need to rely on innuendos or horrible puns, and made Merlin laugh hard enough to snort more than once. Even better, whenever Merlin talked about the zoo or the monkeys, or something anyone else would have found boring—like the monkey’s importance in Japanese folklore—Arthur seemed to be actively listening.

It _was_ a pleasant meal until the tape begun to peel away because Merlin was sweating and his stomach was expanding from the food. He felt his tail begin to uncoil and pressed his back against the chair. He also scooted closer to the table in the hope that Arthur wouldn’t be able to see any strange protrusions.

Arthur, however, noticed the uncomfortable shifting. “Everything okay?” he asked, concerned.

“Yes,” Merlin answered quickly. “Sorry, I’m listening. You were saying you were in a band?”

Arthur shrugged, trusting Merlin to be fine. “Yeah. In college. I played the bass and we were really good, even played local gigs for extra money. But they wanted to make a career out of it, whereas I never wanted to...”

Merlin tried to focus on what Arthur was saying. With his right hand he took a bite, to direct attention to that instead of what his left was doing. He surreptitiously adjusted his tail and attempted to re-tape it down, but the adhesive had worn off.

“Merlin.”

“Hm?” Merlin answered while chewing.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You keep holding your stomach.”

“Er...” He finished chewing before continuing, using the moment to think of a plan. “Yeah, I’m fine, I’ll just...to the loo really quick.”

Merlin slid his chair out and excused himself, holding his tail to his stomach the whole way to the toilets. Luckily nobody was in there so as soon as the door shut behind him he let go with a sigh of relief and his tail swung freely.

He got a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He _looked_ alright. He’d shaved and brushed his hair so that it hid most of his ears, though the tips still poked out. He didn’t look too monkey-ish. Except for excessively hairy arms and legs and, of course, the tail.

Merlin pulled off the rectangle of tape he’d used to fasten the damned appendage and stared at it hopelessly. There was nothing to be done with it; it was covered it his fur and useless. He had to find something in the loo that would hold through the rest of the date.

Which he was about to do when the door swung open and Arthur walked in.

“Merlin, are you—Whoa.”

Before Arthur could say anything else, Merlin spun and made for the closest stall.

“No wait—”

“Ow!” Merlin yelled when he was yanked back by his tail.

“Oh shit, sorry,” Arthur said. “I just—it was the first thing I—”

“Let me _go_.” The prat still had Merlin’s tail in his grasp.

“Right. Sorry.” Arthur let go and took a step back. “Sorry,” he repeated.

Merlin glared at him then disappeared into the stall. He locked it loudly and began undoing his trousers. He’d just have to stuff his tail down like normal and hope nobody looked too closely.

He expected the door to open and for Arthur to walk out any second, but it didn’t happen. Instead he heard Arthur’s voice.

“I thought you had gotten sick. You were holding your stomach and...I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Is that seriously a question you’re asking?” Merlin quipped.

“Okay, I can understand why you didn’t tell me. But you were going to, right? I mean you’d have to if...”

“Yeah,” Merlin saved Arthur the embarrassment of having to finish the sentence. “Eventually. I thought maybe after you got to know me, it wouldn’t matter how much of a freak I am.”

“You’re not a freak.”

“Okay, how different I am then.”

Arthur didn’t say anything else and Merlin buttoned his trousers. At the sound of a zip, Arthur asked, “Do you, er, need help?”

Merlin wasn’t quite ready to face Arthur yet, but he couldn’t stay in the stall forever and he _did_ want to make things work. He unlocked the door and peeked his head out.

“Dress trousers are hard for me. Could you just, um, tell me if it’s terribly noticeable?” he asked meekly.

“Sure.”

“Come in here. I don’t want to chance someone else walking in and seeing what you saw.” He opened the door just enough for Arthur to slip inside.

“It looks fine,” Arthur said. “I can barely tell.”

“But you _can_ tell?”

“Not really. Oh, wow, can you not control that?”

Merlin sighed. “Not as much as I’d like to. It’s worse when I’m nervous.”

“Maybe...Can you sort of curl it around your leg and drape it down the front? Then people will just think you have a really long prick.”

“This is hardly the time for jokes,” Merlin said, laughing despite himself.

“Right, right, of course. But seriously, I think you’ll be fine. The place is dimly lit anyway.”

Merlin pursed his lips in uncertainty but finally relented. It wasn’t as if he had any other choice.

“Okay. Thank you. I guess I’ll just...” He unlocked the door a second time and walked out. “I had a nice time, so...thanks.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home?”

“But why?”

Merlin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You don’t want me to leave?”

“What? No!”

“But I have a—”

“So?”

“So it’s weird,” Merlin stated the obvious.

“I don’t think so. I think it’s interesting. I think you’re interesting.”

“Oh.”

“If you want to go, though, I won’t stop you.”

“I don’t want to.”

Arthur smiled in relief. “Good. Come on before they think we’ve left without paying.” Arthur held out his hand and Merlin let him lead them back to the table.

“Did you drive here?” Arthur asked once they’d sat down.

“No.” Merlin shook his head. “Underground.”

“Can I drive you home?”

Merlin laughed. “I don’t usually go all the way on the first date.”

Arthur raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“Okay, I don’t date,” Merlin clarified. “For obvious reasons. But if I did...”

“That’s not what I meant anyway,” Arthur said, chuckling. “I just thought it must be uncomfortable for you, and if I drove it’d give you enough privacy for a break.”

“Oh. You mean I could...?”

“Exactly. Not that I’m against taking you home for other reasons.”

Merlin felt a stirring in his trousers that wasn’t his tail. “I think we’re ready for the cheque.”


	3. Chapter 3

On the way to Arthur’s auto, Merlin felt the need to clarify. “I was serious, earlier, when I said that about first dates.”

“I know.”

“Okay. Just making sure.”

Arthur had parked fairly close by and Merlin whistled when he saw the impressive machine. Arthur really did have money.

Inside, Merlin found himself hesitating. Arthur had already driven a few blocks before he looked over and saw Merlin nervously twiddling his fingers.

“It sort of defeats the purpose if you don’t do anything,” Arthur said.

Merlin huffed. “You just want to see it again.”

Arthur didn’t deny it, just shrugged and returned his eyes to the road. “It’s up to you, Merlin. Am I turning up here?”

Merlin looked up at the street name. “No, go a bit further.”

After another moment of consideration, Merlin undid his trousers and pulled out his tail. It curved around and rested near his leg before hanging off the end of the seat. Every so often the end would flick sideways or curl up.

“You’re staring,” Merlin remarked after they’d made the turn onto his street.

“Trying not to,” Arthur said apologetically. “You’re going to have to give me some time to get used to it, Merlin.”

Merlin bit his lip and nodded. “It’s this one,” he pointed out the window. Arthur pulled up to the kerb.

Merlin didn’t immediately get out. Arthur understood. He turned off the engine and waited, but couldn’t wait long.

"So how did you...I mean...were you born with it?"

"No," Merlin answered. "Well, sort of. You know how similar monkeys and humans are, right? It's a genetics thing. A mutation."

"Like in X-Men?" Arthur asked unthinkingly.

Merlin laughed. "Yeah. Like in X-Men. Anyway, as I grew older, so did my tailbone. When I was four it was just a nub at the base of my spine, but by the time I was sixteen it was as long as it is now." Merlin took up said appendage in his hand and regarded it fondly. He used to hate it with a fiery passion, but he'd come to accept it as part of him over the years.

“It’s not, um. It’s not like a cat’s tail, is it?” he asked. “I mean, it’s more rigid, yeah? Not...fluffy?”

Merlin laughed and Arthur relaxed. “Rigid. Right.” He chuckled again before continuing. “No, it’s not like a cat’s. More like a dog in the way that I have more control over it. Cat tails are sort of just limp, you know? I can hang from mine.” This last part he said proudly.

“Really?” Arthur said, awed. “It can hold all that weight?”

“I’m not fat!”

“No, obviously not, I meant—” But Merlin’s laughter cut him off and Arthur slapped his arm. “You idiot.”

“Sorry. You should have seen your face. You were so worried!”

Arthur hit him again. “I don’t want to mess this up. I like you, Merlin.”

“Funny way of showing it. You keep hitting me,” Merlin grinned playfully.

Arthur was suddenly serious. “Can I kiss you then? Or is that too much on the first date as well?”

Merlin’s pulse raced. “No. That’s fine.”

“Thank God.”

It was teeth at first, because Merlin couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot. But then it was lips and tongue and sucking. Merlin barely registered Arthur’s hand cupping his cheek and then the fingers slipping into his hair. But then he became all too aware of it and he wanted to climb onto Arthur’s lap and do the filthiest things.

“What? What is it?” Arthur asked when Merlin pulled away. “Did I—”

“It’s nothing you did,” Merlin assured him. “It’s me. Sorry. It’s um.” He blushed. “I should go.” He reached for the door.

“Merlin.” Arthur grabbed his wrist. “What is it?”

“Well, er, it’s not just the tail. I’m sort of...” He considered how to best say it. Arthur was patient. “Bonobo monkeys use sex as a greeting, to resolve conflicts, and even to celebrate when they find food,” he blurted.

Arthur blinked and tried not to laugh. “Okay.”

“So monkeys are sex obsessed creatures. And I’m part monkey.” Arthur still looked clueless. “ _So_ I should go before I end up inviting you inside.”

“Oh! Alright, yeah, get out of my car.” Arthur pushed him against the door.

Laughing, Merlin said, “Okay, okay, I’m going!” He opened the door and put a foot out, then stopped. “Shit, almost forgot.” He shifted and tucked his tail back into his trouser leg before stepping out. “Thanks for dinner, Arthur. And for...you know. Earlier.”

“Any time, Merlin.”

“Bye.”

After Arthur drove off, Merlin hurried up to his flat. Once inside, he practically ripped off his trousers and was stroking his cock before he even got to his bedroom. He leapt and curled his tail around the bar he’d hung from the ceiling to pull himself up onto his bunk. He swung and landed on the mattress with ease.

He tugged at himself quickly at first, but then set a more leisurely pace. There was no rush. He wanted to enjoy this.

Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could still smell Arthur, so close in the confined space of the car. He could still taste the sweet wine Arthur had had at dinner on his tongue and feel Arthur’s fingers curled in his hair. And Arthur’s lips...he could easily imagine those pretty lips stretched around his cock while those vibrant blue eyes looked up at him.

When he came, it was with a shriek remarkably similar to the monkeys at the zoo. He realised halfway through and clamped his mouth shut. He hoped he hadn’t disturbed the neighbours.

*

Enough weeks and dates passed that they became A Couple. The monkeys in the exhibit grew used to seeing Arthur around and sometimes even looked at Merlin funny if he wasn’t there. Arthur spent a lot of time at Merlin’s flat where he could get used to seeing Merlin’s tail, but they were always careful not to touch too much or kiss too passionately. Merlin could get excited over the tiniest things, and often had to push a laughing Arthur out the door before things went too far too fast.

After a little over a month is when they ran into trouble. Arthur had taken to having an extended lunch with Merlin every Tuesday—he rarely had meetings or anything significant to do at work on Tuesdays—and this particular week he’d been followed.

“Father?” Arthur gaped as the elder Pendragon walked into the exhibit. Uther wore a pressed grey suit with a clean black tie, and looked around in disgust as he entered.

“ _This_ is where you keep disappearing off to?” Merlin tried to disappear himself, but Uther’s critical eye was upon him. “Who is this?”

“This is just—”

“Hello,” Merlin greeted and stood, holding out his hand, “I’m Merlin. I work here. Nice to meet you.”

Uther considered the hand in front of him a moment before accepting it with a firm grasp. “Hello.” He looked past Merlin’s shoulder with a questioning brow to his son still seated on the bench.

Arthur got up and wrapped an arm around Merlin’s waist. “Father, Merlin is my boyfriend.”

The questioning brow raised a fraction higher, just enough to change Uther’s expression to that of contempt. “Him? You let Elena go for _him_? He’s—”

“Standing right here!” Merlin pointed out. Arthur tightened his hold.

“Yes,” Arthur said evenly. “I didn’t like her in the first place. You knew that and set me up with her anyways.”

“You just hadn’t gotten to know her,” Uther explained.

“Maybe you should get to know Merlin."

Uther grit his teeth audibly. “What a wonderful idea,” he said as though it physically pained him. “I’ll see you both for dinner tonight then. And do bathe first, I can hardly have my home smelling of ape."

He wrinkled his nose in disgust then turned and left. Arthur and Merlin both let out a relieved sigh when he was gone and sank back down to the bench.

“That went well,” Merlin stated dryly.

Arthur grunted and changed the subject. “So I was reading about tails the other day, and I learned the term for yours.”

“It’s partially prehensile. I’m surprised you went to all that trouble.” Merlin took a sip from his water bottle.

“It’s just pressing a few buttons, Merlin, hardly any trouble. But I was curious because I know some monkeys can use their tails like a third arm, yet you told me you couldn’t really control it.”

“I can curl and uncurl it, and hang from things, as you know.” Arthur did know. He’d seen the monkey bars Merlin had set up in his flat and the strange layout of his furniture, the bunk bed especially. “But I can’t grip anything. There’s no—”

“Friction pad.”

Merlin nodded. “I’m impressed. You seem to have taken a sudden interest in monkeys,” he teased playfully.

“Nah, just one," he said and pecked Merlin's cheek.

*

Arthur showed up at Merlin’s flat promptly at five.

“Arthur? What are you doing here so early?” Merlin asked as he opened the door.

Arthur brushed past him, carrying a mysterious white bag. “I’m here to help. I know how you are about dress trousers, remember? Here, I bought some.”

He set the bag down on the sofa and Merlin went through it. The first pair he pulled out made him burst in guffaws.

“These are huge! There’s no way they’ll fit.”

“That’s why I also bought belts. Those are at the bottom.”

“Arthur, even then they flare out like I’m going to a disco or something. I’m sure I have—”

“Are you sure? This is my _father_ , Merlin. If you don’t make a good impression, it’ll take years, _years_ for you to earn his respect.”

Merlin gulped. “Um...”

“I want him to like you, Merlin.”

Merlin let the trousers fall back into the bag. “No pressure, right?” he said with a weak smile.

“Sorry.” Arthur looked at his watch. “Shit. Come here.”

Merlin took a step forward but Arthur didn’t wait for him to take the rest. He was in Merlin’s face within two seconds. “What—”

“It grows back faster than normal, doesn’t it?” Arthur asked, running a hand over Merlin’s stubbled jaw. “Go.” He pushed Merlin toward the loo. “Go shower and shave and I’ll pick something out for you. Hurry!”

“I’m going, I’m going!”

Merlin took possibly the fastest shower of his life. He’d never seen Arthur so worried before and it was making him nervous. He wrapped a towel around his waist and poked his head out the door into the living room.

“Got anything?” he asked Arthur.

“Not exactly. Here, put these on.” Arthur tossed him a pair of pants that Merlin caught one-handedly. “Tell me when you’ve got them on.”

Merlin dried himself off and inserted his tail through the hole cut in the back before stepping into the undergarment. “Alright, now what?”

Arthur appeared in the doorway and looked Merlin over. “I have an idea. Turn around.” Merlin gave Arthur a puzzled look but complied. “Oh. I didn’t even see that when I picked them up. Have you cut holes into all of them?”

Merlin blushed. “Yes.”

“Alright, now I’m going to have to touch you. Don’t freak out.”

“Um, okay?”

Merlin jumped when he felt Arthur’s hand close around his tail, but let Arthur continue. Arthur curled the slender appendage around Merlin’s left thigh until it was coiled tightly.

“You said you had control over curling and uncurling, right? Can you keep it there?” Arthur asked.

“Not for very long.”

Arthur sighed in exasperation. “You wrapped it the same way around your stomach on our first date!”

“That was different. This is like...it’s like clenching your hands. Coiling it around my waist was a loose fist. This is digging my fingernails into my palm. Also, I had tape holding it up, which didn’t exactly work if you remember,” Merlin retorted.

“I don’t know then, Merlin. I can’t understand how you’ve been making it work all these years. What about school, or other formal events?”

“I wore loose trousers. And I work at the zoo: not exactly the type of job that requires me to attend formal events.”

Arthur looked at the floor and chewed his lip in thought. He seemed about to give up, so Merlin tried something else.

“Maybe if I just...” He uncurled his tail enough to stretch it further down his leg. This way it wasn’t all bunched up around his thigh, but past his knee and around his calf a little as well. “If I tape it down like this, it won’t hurt so much,” he suggested.

When he looked up to consult Arthur, Arthur was smiling like he’d just gotten everything he’d ever wanted for his birthday.

“It’ll still be awkward walking and sitting down, mind you, but—”

Arthur cut him off with a lung-crushing hug. “That won’t matter. As long as you aren’t in pain and nothing appears out of the ordinary, everything will be fine.”

“I’m in pain _now_ ,” Merlin gasped for air.

“Sorry.” Arthur let him go and Merlin exhaled. “Wear what you wore on our first date. You looked amazing in that and he likes red. It’s like our family colour. But you’ll need a tie.”

“So you don’t want me to shave anymore?”

“Oh, right. Best do that first then.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Um...” Merlin blinked at the steak on his plate. He didn’t want to bring attention to himself by saying anything, but if he didn’t eat it Uther might get offended.

Thankfully, Arthur looked over, certain that Uther was too far absorbed in the sound of his own voice to notice. “Something wrong?” he asked in a whisper. Merlin looked meaningfully at his plate and placed the blade of his knife on the incriminating meat. “Ah. Trade you my carrots?”

“Deal.” Merlin nodded. They pushed their plates closer together and tried to covertly swap bits of food. They’d just separated when Uther chose that moment to notice the exchange.

“Problem with the steak, Merlin?” he asked somewhat accusingly. At least it sounded accusing to Merlin.

“Er, no sir, it’s—”

“Merlin is a vegetarian, Father. I should have told you earlier,” Arthur said.

“Oh, what a shame,” Uther drawled. “There’s milk in the mash and I’m sure Mary used eggs in the cake she’s made for dessert.”

Merlin glanced down at the potatoes on his plate. “The...? Oh, no, no, I’m not a vegan.”

Uther raised a bored eyebrow. “There’s a difference? I assumed they were synonyms.”

“Father—”

“No,” Merlin said, shaking his head but smiling politely. “I’ll drink the cow’s milk but I won’t eat the cow. There’s a very big difference.”

“I see.” Though from the tone it didn’t appear that Uther “saw” anything. He stabbed his fork into a pre-cut piece of steak and took a bite. Uther had his cooked medium rare and bloody and Merlin could see the juices that lingered on the plate. “I suppose that’s more for the rest of us. Everything balances out.” Uther swallowed and opened his mouth to say more but Arthur interrupted him, already seeing where this was headed.

“Father, please, Merlin doesn’t need to hear your thoughts on every subject as I have countless times.”

“Do _not_ interrupt me, Arthur.” Uther pointed his fork threateningly at his son. “As I was saying. While it’s a shame you don’t find this wonderful specimen as delectable as I do, it’s also perfectly fine because if everyone were as cold-hearted as us meat eaters I expect we’d have a food shortage. I said nearly the same thing when Arthur told me he also fancied men—”

“Father!” Arthur nearly choked on his sparkling water.

“What?” Uther looked the picture of innocence. “I did, didn’t I?” He refocused his gaze on Merlin, who was fighting a blush. “I told him homosexuality was just God’s natural population control. If everyone were attracted to the opposite sex we’d be much more overpopulated than we already are. It’s a pity most people don’t recognise what a blessing poofs are.”

“Oh my God,” Arthur groaned into his palm.

Merlin bit the insides of his cheeks but couldn’t contain his laughter for more than a few seconds. He burst into loud guffaws that he tried to stifle with his hands. The more he tried to keep in the more funny it seemed though, and soon he had tears in his eyes and his stomach was cramping up.

Arthur bit his lip but couldn’t help smiling too. He didn’t know what was so hilarious but Merlin’s smile was contagious and he shook his head while letting out a few chuckles of his own.

“I’m sorry, did I miss something?” Uther asked, irritated.

“Sorry,” Merlin said on an exhale, “I just—Sorry. I’ve never heard it put quite like that before.” Finally, he managed to get some semblance of control over himself and could speak coherently. “That’s a very interesting way of looking at it, sir.”

“And by interesting, you mean...?”

Merlin waved his hand, looking for the right word. “Er, avant-garde?”

“Really?”

“Oh no, now you’ve done it,” Merlin heard Arthur mutter beside him.

Uther’s face positively brightened. “That’s exactly what I told Arthur! Tell me, what do you think about alien abductions?”

*

“Your father—”

“Is a nutter,” Arthur supplied. “I know.”

“Well, yeah,” Merlin agreed, shutting the auto door and going straight to undo his trousers. “But also kind of brilliant.”

Arthur rolled his eyes as he put the car in reverse. “He’s not here, Merlin, no need to keep sucking up.”

Merlin lifted his hips so he could wiggle his legs out of his trousers. Arthur’s eyes popped and he slammed on the brake, making Merlin jolt back into the seat.

“What the—” Merlin blinked to orient himself. He looked over at Arthur and took in the shocked expression. “Oh, I just thought...my tail, it’s—”

“Shit, no, sorry!” Arthur slapped his forehead. “I completely forgot. I thought...I didn’t know what to think. Wow, no, go ahead.” He took a deep breath and carefully eased off the brake. Merlin began ripping the tape from his leg, quick so the adhesive wouldn’t smart too long.

When Merlin had finally, _finally_ , unravelled his tail from around his leg he got back into his trousers. He moved on to the pieces of tape that were still stuck to his tail. These would _not_ be fun to peel off.

The third time Merlin whimpered and tears began to prick at his eyes, Arthur chanced a look over. “Does it hurt?”

“No, everything’s bloody perfect over here,” Merlin snapped. He immediately softened. “Sorry. Um, yeah, it hurts. A lot. I’m trying to be careful but it’s like...I guess the closest to compare for you would be like duct taping your pubes and then trying to rip it off gently.”

“Ow.”

“Precisely.”

They reached a traffic signal and Arthur watched longer as he waited for the change. “Why don’t you do it fast, like before?”

Merlin gave up with an exasperated huff. “I’ll just wait ‘til I get home and put water on it or something.”

The light changed and Arthur returned his gaze to the road. “Did you want to, um...I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you...” The skin over Arthur’s knuckles stretched taut as he took a deep breath and gripped the wheel. “I just figured since it’s late you might want to stay at mine tonight?”

When he finally dared to glance over at Merlin, he saw him chewing his lip and staring out the window as the city passed by.

“Yeah. Alright.”

Arthur let out his held breath. Any other time Arthur had asked it’d been “maybe later” or “you know why I can’t do that, Arthur.” _Finally_ , Merlin allowed him this one thing.

“Really?”

Merlin tore his eyes from the city lights to look at Arthur with a fond smile. “Yeah. You live closer to the zoo anyways. It’ll be nice not to have to wake up and sit next to that balding man that does sudoku on the tube every morning.”

Arthur laughed. “Sure, Merlin, I’ll drive you to work.”

“How kind of you, Arthur.”

When they got to Arthur’s building, Merlin tucked his tail back in for the brief lift ride up. He was a bundle of nerves. When they’d stopped by on the way to Uther’s house—estate, more like—Merlin had stayed in the car while Arthur changed. Now he was going to see just how Arthur lived, what his personal space said about his character.

Merlin tried to calm his breathing. He hated lifts. He much preferred to take the stairs, but Arthur was right; it _was_ late and he was tired.

To take his mind off of being trapped in a rising metal box, Merlin asked, “How did your father get to own a business if he’s so mental? I mean, he didn’t even know the difference between vegan and vegetarian.”

Arthur’s laugh echoed in the confined space. “He knew, Merlin. He was just trying to see what you’d do.”

Merlin felt a flare of anger. “Ah. Manipulative. So that’s how.”

“Manipulation, cunning...it’s all in the evil company owner manual.” Arthur flashed an easy smile.

“Well, I’m glad you don’t take after him,” Merlin replied, squeezing Arthur’s hand.

“I might. You haven’t seen me at work.”

“Nah,” Merlin shook his head, “you’re not the type. You’re too honest.”

The lift came to a gentle stop and they stepped out onto Arthur’s floor. As Arthur unlocked the door with his key Merlin noticed a slight frown on Arthur’s face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as they entered. His excitement to see Arthur’s flat was almost entirely forgotten.

Arthur pressed his lips together in a tight line and his frown deepened. “I haven’t been completely honest.”

“Okay.” Merlin closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “About what?”

“I, um. There’s this thing...I was going to tell you eventually, it just didn’t seem to ever be relevant, you know?”

“No, Arthur, I _don’t_ know. Why don’t you just tell me? Is it a kid?”

“What?” Arthur looked appalled.

“A kid, do you have a kid? Or some fetish? Oh my God, do you like to crossdress?”

“What? No! None of those things! Just—” He spun Merlin around to face the living room. “Look!”

At first Merlin didn’t see what he was supposed to be looking at. It was a regular living room with a sofa, coffee table, television, even a rather comfortable looking leather recliner. Then Merlin noticed little things: how Arthur’s shoes were lined up meticulously by the door according to colour; how five nearly identical apples were placed in the centre of the coffee table; how even in the dim light from a single table-lamp Merlin could see every centimetre of furniture had not a speck of dust on it. It was like walking into a museum.

“Wow, OCD much?” he looked over his shoulder at Arthur with a teasing grin.

Arthur, however, was staring down at his feet. “Um. Yeah, actually,” he muttered just loud enough for Merlin to hear.

Merlin looked horrified. “Fuck, Arthur, I’m so—fuck! I didn’t mean—”

“Relax, Merlin.” Arthur sighed. “I know you didn’t mean it like that.”

“You never...how can you even stand my flat?”

That got a laugh out of him, thankfully. “It’s not exactly like that. My meds help most of the time but trust me, I’ve tidied up once or twice while you were in the loo or the kitchen.”

“I did wonder how my mail had sorted itself,” Merlin mused.

Arthur smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Merlin shrugged. “‘S okay. It also explains why you were so worried about what I wore tonight. I mean honestly, who goes out and buys nine pairs of trousers and six belts for one dinner?”

“I was being thorough!” Arthur chuckled. After a beat, he became serious again. “But it really doesn’t bother you? The OCD thing?”

“Arthur, I have tail for fuck’s sake.”

“This is true.”

“I _wish_ I had a normal thing to hide like OCD. Of course it doesn’t bloody bother me!”

The grin that stretched across Arthur’s face made him look years younger. He opened his mouth to say something but apparently thought better of it because the next thing Merlin knew Arthur’s lips were pressed against his.

“Oh, okay, Arthur,” Merlin gasped for breath when Arthur began planting kisses all over his face and neck. “Arthur.”

Arthur pulled away still smiling like an idiot. “Sorry, I just...” He blushed and lowered his head.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing. Let’s see what we can do about that tape, alright?” He took Merlin’s hand and led him through the flat, turning on lights as he went. When they got to the loo, Merlin’s jaw dropped.

“This is the size of my whole kitchen.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. It is a bit spacious I guess.”

Merlin undid his trousers. “A bit spacious?” he echoed, freeing his tail. “Try colossal.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “No need to exaggerate, Merlin.”

Merlin ran his hand under the tap and began to work at the adhesive on the tape. It still hurt when he ripped it off, but significantly less.

Arthur couldn’t help but laugh and earned a glare from Merlin. “What’s so funny, then?”

“It looks like a snake when the fur is all wet,” Arthur replied, giggling.

“Oi!” With an easy flick of the end, Merlin thumped Arthur’s side. “Keep up the insults and maybe it’ll bite you like a snake.”

Arthur mocked rubbing the pain from his arm as he continued to laugh. “Great job, Merlin, now you’ve gotten water everywhere.” It was true that the motion had caused several droplets of water to land on the mirror.

“It’ll dry. Speaking of dry, hand me a towel, would you?”

Arthur pulled a towel off the rack and tossed it to Merlin, who began drying his tail thoroughly. The short black fur lost its wet sheen but was still a little damp by the end of a couple minutes.

“So...”

“This must be a tail question.” Merlin looked up from rebuttoning his trousers a little below his waist. “You always begin with a drawn out ‘so.’”

Arthur gave a shy smile. “Yeah. Sorry. I was just wondering. You said it wasn’t always that long, but was it always that thick?” He frowned. “Wow, that sounds terrible out of context.”

“Aha! No,” Merlin told him, “it also got thicker as I got older. Though it’s not terribly thick now, is it?” He held his tail worriedly in his hands. “Only about two fingers wide.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Merlin gaped. “A good thing! I don’t want it to look like I’m hiding a third leg in my trousers!”

Arthur laughed as he left and Merlin followed him down the hallway. Merlin’s heart skipped a beat when he realised it was to the bedroom.

“See, this is what I was talking about,” he joked nervously, “Your room is the same size as the loo.”

“And _I_ was talking about you exaggerating. It so is not.”

Arthur walked over to the bed and grabbed a pillow and Merlin looked at him like he was lost.

“Oh, I was just...I know you don’t want to, er, put yourself in temptation’s way so to speak,” Arthur explained as he looked at anywhere but Merlin. “I was just going to sleep on the sofa.”

When Arthur finally did look up Merlin was struggling not to laugh, and it was obvious from the way he was biting into his cheeks.

“Arthur, you’re an idiot. I wouldn’t have agreed to come back here if I wasn’t alright with giving in to temptation now.”

Arthur’s eyes went comically wide and he nearly dropped the pillow in his hand. He watched every step Merlin took forward with acute awareness.

“So,” Merlin drawled and he easily undid the knot in Arthur’s tie, “why don’t you put that pillow back on the bed, and then get to fucking me?” The tie slid to the floor and that woke Arthur out of his shock. He threw the pillow behind him and pulled Merlin into a rough kiss by the back of his neck.

“Fucking finally,” he growled against Merlin’s lips as he went at Merlin’s own tie one-handedly. In his desperation he lacked the finesse Merlin had though, and Merlin had to pull away to take it off himself, laughing.

Arthur attacked his trousers which had suddenly grown too tight. By the time he slipped them off along with his pants and had started unbuttoning his shirt, Merlin was nearly completely undressed, standing in only his pants which he was now working his tail out of.

He was done, thankfully, after Arthur had gotten his shirt off and surprised Arthur by pushing him forcefully back onto the bed. Arthur barely had time to register his new position before Merlin was straddling him and grinding into him almost painfully.

There was a messy mix of their precome on Arthur’s stomach already. Merlin kissed his way up the side of Arthur’s neck until their lips met and Merlin plunged his tongue deep inside, conquering. This kiss was nothing compared to the seemingly chaste ones they’d shared before. Merlin had definitely been holding out.

Then Arthur’s hands gripped Merlin’s arse to bring their groins closer and Merlin’s breath hitched. Arthur’s filthy voice didn’t do much to help him.

“Beautiful. You’re so fucking hot, Merlin, gotta get my cock inside this perfect arse of yours.”

Merlin moaned. “Yeah.”

“Just let me—fuck, I hate to ask you to stop.”

With a reluctant groan and a promising kiss to Arthur’s nipple, Merlin crawled off and let Arthur fumble around in the nightstand for the required items. When he next looked at Merlin, it was to see Merlin perched on all fours manoeuvring his tail out of the way of his entrance and Arthur nearly came right then.

Merlin positioned his tail so it lay across his back and draped over his shoulder. It was strange but exciting having the skin usually hidden under the weight of his tail exposed.

Arthur returned and placed a gentle caress up Merlin’s thigh before palming the globes of his arse. It wasn’t nearly as hairy as he’d thought it’d be given Merlin’s arms and legs. The coarse black hair thinned as it moved towards the centre of Merlin’s body, except for the line that started between Merlin’s shoulder blades and continued down his back until it thickened near the base of his spine at the tail.

Arthur saw now it was really just an extension of his spine, that just above the crack of his arse Merlin’s spinal cord jutted outward and curved to form a tail. And now that Arthur could really look, he saw what a soft, beautiful tail it was.

“God, Merlin, you’re so...” Arthur didn’t have the words, or rather the English language didn’t. “I never thought anything like this would turn me on so much.”

Merlin went to playfully hit Arthur’s arm with his tail like he had in the loo only for Arthur to reach out and grab it just before it made contact. Merlin had to swallow and take a deep breath because...fuck, Arthur was rubbing it against his cheek, caressing his face with the soft fur.

“G-Get on with it, then,” Merlin said, voice hoarse with desire. “What happened to ‘gotta get my cock inside,’ huh?”

Arthur let Merlin take his tail back and watched as he draped it gracefully over his shoulder. He flashed a filthy grin as he popped the cap off the lube bottle. “We’ll get there,” he said and promptly covered his fingers generously.

The first finger was weird. It wasn’t that Merlin hadn’t fingered himself before, or even played with the couple of toys he had back home, but it was different in that it was someone else. Then came the second finger, and after the initial pain there was a spike of pleasure.

Merlin felt a yell (or perhaps a more embarrassing, more simian sound) build in his throat and bit his lip to stifle it. There was no way, however, to stop the surprised cry that escaped when Arthur’s fingers curved and brushed that delightful bundle of nerves.

“Fuck,” Merlin breathed, “fuck, fuck, fuck.”

In the process of inserting the third digit, Arthur suddenly froze. “Merlin.”

“What?” Merlin snapped. “Why the hell did you stop?” he glared over his shoulder.

“Have you ever...this isn’t...?” At Merlin’s blush and widened eyes, Arthur’s jaw dropped. “Were you even going to tell me you’re a virgin?”

“Well I can’t exactly go on the pull with this thing, can I?” The end of Merlin’s tail flicked up just the slightest bit. “And it’s not like I haven’t had anything up there before,” Merlin threw back to cover his embarrassment.

“Have you ever even had a boyfriend?”

Merlin sputtered. “Yes! I just never...we only ever sucked each other off. And I always kept my tail in my trousers.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal about it.”

“It sort of—”

“ _Arthur!_ ”

“Alright, alright, just calm down, yeah?” Arthur finished pushing in his three fingers, working Merlin open with more care than before.

Too much care for Merlin. He wanted Arthur _now_ and would have insisted Arthur get inside him already, but he also couldn’t help but wonder if Arthur’s OCD caused him to have to do even this a certain way. At least Arthur wasn’t still nagging him about this being his first time and they were making some progress.

Then Arthur’s fingers left him altogether and he heard the telltale rip of a condom wrapper. Merlin told every tensed muscle in his body to relax and unconsciously shifted his arse back eagerly. Arthur reached out and placed a warm hand on him.

“So greedy for it, aren’t you?” he said in quiet awe. “It’s alright, Merlin, I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”

Merlin made a soft noise of contentment. Arthur’s palm on his arse gripped a little harder, hard enough to part Merlin’s cheeks as he pressed the head of his slicked cock to Merlin’s eager hole.

The ring of muscle protested at first but the further Arthur pushed in the easier it became. This was nothing like the toys he’d used at home. He’d taken things as large, certainly, but Arthur’s dick inside him was flesh—it was hot-blooded and so much more intimate.

When Merlin felt Arthur’s balls meet his arse, his body thrummed with excitement knowing Arthur was completely inside him. He suddenly wished they’d done this on his back, no matter how uncomfortable it would have been for his tail, because he wanted to wrap his arms around Arthur and hold him tight. His arse felt full but his arms felt cold and empty.

As a temporary solution, Merlin grabbed the discarded pillow from before and placed it under his chest where he could hold it and pretend it was Arthur. Arthur didn’t comment, he simply leaned forward so his own chest was pressed against Merlin’s back, wary of the tail between them, and kissed the dip of Merlin’s neck.

This kiss was a warning, for immediately afterwards Arthur began to move, rocking his hips back and forth in a slow rhythm. Merlin was used to this, the strange feeling of something foreign in his arse. That wasn’t the part that thrilled him. Arthur’s breath, hot and uneven in his ear, was what was new. The fact that it was a flesh and blood body, that hands besides his own were clutching his skin, added a whole new level of intensity.

Then Arthur sped up and what was good got great. Merlin tried to focus on Arthur’s cock sliding perfectly in and out of him but his senses were overwhelmed. Arthur’s body heat enveloped him, Arthur’s ragged panting kept him hard, and Arthur’s fingers entwined with his own underneath the pillow reminded him this was more than just sex.

With the slightest change in angle, what was great became amazing. Arthur’s cock found that bundle of nerves again and Merlin couldn’t hold back his screams. They started as screams anyway. After another jerk of Arthur’s hips that hit Merlin’s prostate, they became the embarrassing sounds Merlin had tried to stifle earlier, loud screeches that no normal human vocal cords could make.

Merlin buried his face in the pillow after the last shriek escaped him. Almost immediately he felt Arthur’s fingers in his hair and his head was yanked back up.

“Fucking _animal_ ,” Arthur growled in his ear.

“Arthur, I—ah!” Another screech made its way out of Merlin’s throat as Arthur brushed the pleasure spot again.

“Oh yeah, it’s definitely my new goal to get you to make that noise as often as possible now.”

“The neighbours—”

“Fuck the neighbours. Let me hear you, monkey boy.”

Arthur released his hold on Merlin’s hair and Merlin exhaled gratefully only to breathe in sharply when Arthur’s hand wrapped around his cock. The sensation in his arse plus Arthur’s touch on his dick was too much, and he came with another round of loud shrieking.

Arthur moaned as he pulled Merlin’s orgasm out of him. “God, that is so incredibly hot.”

Merlin was boneless and tired but didn’t let that stop him from getting some form of revenge. He curled his tail around Arthur’s neck like a snake squeezing its prey and pulled Arthur forward for a filthy kiss. Merlin hadn’t been lying when he’d said he only ever sucked his past few boyfriends off, so he’d had plenty of practise with his tongue. After another few thrusts, Arthur was coming too, panting into Merlin’s mouth.

As soon as Arthur slipped out, Merlin wanted to finally get his arms around Arthur and hold him. He wanted the solid warmth of that broad chest that was practically begging for Merlin to lay his head down there. Arthur was quickly getting farther and farther away, was standing up and turning around and—

“Ow—Oh!—Merlin!” Arthur thundered and grabbed at Merlin’s arms around his neck. Merlin had leapt up and wrapped himself around Arthur’s back.

Merlin moved his arms so they weren’t in a chokehold over Arthur’s throat. “Sorry. I didn’t want you to go.”

“So you jumped on me in a surprise piggyback attack?”

Merlin giggled. “Yes.”

Arthur sighed and stroked the hairy leg wrapped around his stomach. “You’re lucky you’re not very heavy.”

Arthur tossed the soiled condom in the bin and began removing the come-stained duvet from the bed. After he piled it at the foot of the bed and got another one, Merlin began chuckling in his ear again.

“Hey Arthur.”

“Don’t say it, Merlin,” Arthur warned, but smiled nonetheless.

“You’ve got a monkey on your back.”

“That’s it, you’ve lost piggybacking privileges. Off you get.”

Arthur tried to remove him but Merlin held on tight. Arthur reached behind him and tickled Merlin’s sides, which had him squirming and giggling and he screeched a couple times.

“ _Ow._ Try not to deafen me?”

“You started it.” Merlin licked the shell of Arthur’s ear in apology. If Arthur hadn’t just come, that definitely would have gotten him at least half hard again.

“I told you not to say it.” Arthur gave up trying to get Merlin off and finished making up the bed.

“Of course I was going to say it. Last time I had the opportunity was when my mum would carry me up the stairs to bed.”

“I’m to be your mum now, am I?” Arthur teased and sat down on the newly made up mattress. Merlin finally unattached himself and they slipped under the warm duvet.

“Definitely not,” he said, laying his head on Arthur’s chest at last and draping a possessive arm across his waist. “Doesn’t mean you can’t carry me.”

“Mmm.”

The long night caught up with Merlin and he was asleep before Arthur even turned the lamp off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Merlin's sex noises.](https://soundcloud.com/neuroticnick/red-monkey)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Merlin's sleep noises.](https://soundcloud.com/neuroticnick/capuchin-monkey)

Merlin felt his dream world shift and eased back into consciousness. When he blinked his eyes open, Arthur was staring down at him unsmiling but clearly amused.

“You make the cutest noises when you sleep.”

Merlin was too tired to take offense, just yawned and stretched his limbs. Arthur’s eyes went from half-shut to fully open when Merlin’s straightened tail briefly tented the duvet.

“Yeah?” Merlin finally answered. “Like what?”

Arthur consulted the ceiling while his mind looked for the right words. “Like little sniffing, squeaking noises. And you twitch. Like a dog that’s dreaming about running.”

By now Merlin was awake enough to retaliate. He raised his hand to slap Arthur’s bare stomach but Arthur grabbed hold of his wrist easily.

“What were you dreaming about?” he asked.

Merlin gave in. “I was...” He blushed and lowered his head. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“Never.”

“I was climbing. I love climbing. My mum would take me to the park all the time when I was younger and I’d just climb the trees. Sometimes we’d go at night when nobody was there so I could let my tail out and swing from the branches.” Merlin smiled just remembering it and his eyes got a dreamy look. “I liked to go really high, and that always worried Mum. She’d tell me to be careful and I’d always say ‘Yeah, Mum, I know, I know.’”

“I bet your ears looked even bigger back then,” Arthur remarked, touching one softly. Merlin’s eyes shifted back to the present and he looked at Arthur curiously. “Probably sprouted hair on your legs before all the other little boys too, huh?”

Merlin blushed. “Arms, actually.”

“Close enough.” Arthur ran his hand up the arm Merlin had draped across him. “Tell me more.”

Merlin laughed. “I have to go to work. And I’m fairly certain you do too.”

“Surely you can shower and talk at the same time.”

“Alright.”

Arthur was quiet while Merlin talked, interrupting only to make a few witty comments here and there or to laugh hysterically. One such outburst of laughter came when Merlin was washing Arthur’s back and had told him that his mother called him Curious Merlin when he was young.

“Shut up!” Merlin slapped Arthur’s wet skin. “That was my favourite story. I may not have known a man in a yellow hat, and George didn’t have a tail like I do, but I got into nearly as much trouble.”

“I have to meet your mother,” Arthur declared, still chuckling. “I bet she could tell me all sorts of stories about little Curious Merlin getting into things he shouldn’t have.”

“Oh God, I never should have told you that,” Merlin whined.

When they got out of the shower, they had to rush. Arthur got a couple bananas from the kitchen while Merlin dressed—sneaky Arthur had grabbed some of Merlin’s clothes the night before just in case—and brought them back to the bedroom. Merlin’s eyes lit up and he grinned dopily before peeling the fruit and taking a large bite.

They had their first problem walking back to the living room. Merlin’s tail knocked a couple paintings askew and he nearly toppled an expensive looking vase.

“Sorry!” Merlin apologised when he almost sent the table-lamp crashing to the floor.

“Really, Merlin, it’s a wonder you can navigate your own flat,” Arthur teased.

“I’m attuned to it!” Merlin said defensively. “I don’t know where anything is in here so of course I don’t know how to move.”

“Well, don’t break anything. Please, _please_ , don’t break anything. I have it set up just the way I need it and if it’s—”

“I won’t. I’ll be careful.” Merlin unzipped his trousers and began stuffing his tail inside.

“Merlin, wait,” Arthur stopped him. He reached out slowly and Merlin let him take it up in his hand. It curled reflexively when Arthur stroked the soft fur.

“I didn’t mean you had to put it away,” Arthur said. “I want you to be able to be yourself here. Just, you know...move slowly, yeah? Try to be aware of where you swing this thing.”

Arthur gave the firm appendage a final rub with his thumb then let it fall. Almost immediately Merlin wrapped it around Arthur’s waist and pulled him closer for a bruising kiss.

“‘S like a fucking tentacle,” Arthur laughed when Merlin finally broke away.

“Mmm. Not quite as slimy though. And no suckers.” Merlin curled the end inward just a bit to dig into Arthur’s side and Arthur squirmed. “Ticklish?” Merlin grinned.

“Merlin,” Arthur warned but had a light just as playful in his eyes. “We’re late enough. You can tickle me with your tail all you want later.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Merlin pressed another quick kiss to Arthur’s lips. “I do have to put it away though. For the lift ride down at least.”

Merlin reluctantly separated himself and tucked it away while Arthur went to put on his shoes. When Merlin turned around, Arthur was fiddling with the table-lamp, making sure it was perfectly centered again.

“It’s fine, Arthur, come on.” Merlin tugged on Arthur’s elbow.

“But—”

“You said it yourself, we’re late enough.”

Arthur grumbled but let Merlin pull him away. Merlin pushed him out the door before Arthur could look back and wonder if anything else had been off-kilter.

*

The monkeys at the zoo sensed an immediate change in Merlin. Elyan threw his head back and screeched while pounding his chest; Gwen became all motherly and climbed on Merlin’s shoulders to pick pillow-lint out of his hair; when Merlin went to feed Percival the gorilla, he was pretty sure that look in Perce’s eyes was respect. It was as if they’d all been wondering when Merlin would embrace his monkey instincts and fuck someone’s brains out.

Merlin tried not to feel too uncomfortable about it.

When Arthur came for lunch on Tuesday, they went positively insane.

“What’s wrong with them?” Arthur asked when Elyan kept smacking his lips at him from behind the glass.

Merlin rolled his eyes and rapped his knuckles on the clear barrier to make Elyan flinch back. “He wants us to kiss.”

Arthur raised an amused eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You should have seen them that first day when I walked in. It’s like they could smell the sex on me.”

Arthur laughed. “They’re smarter than they look.”

Merlin elbowed Arthur lightly and Arthur gave him a stare that said he knew Merlin would have hit him with his tail had they been alone.

“They’re not that different from you or me, considering we evolved from them.”

“Some more than others,” Arthur quipped, earning him another elbow in the ribs.

“But they _are_ intelligent. They just can’t communicate as well,” Merlin continued.

Arthur tilted his head, a sign that he was honestly curious. “Can you talk to them? I mean, you know, like actually understand them?”

Merlin shrugged. “Anyone could learn to talk to them if they spent enough time with them. There are tonnes of people that specialise in teaching monkeys sign language and—”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Elyan knocked on the glass and Merlin jumped in surprise. He turned and glared at the monkey but Elyan only grinned and screeched.

“Bugger off,” Merlin waved Elyan away. “I’ll sic Gwen on you.” Elyan blew air through his lips. He wasn’t intimidated. “Or I could just put you in the cage with Percival,” Merlin appended meaningfully. At that Elyan finally did trudge away, but not before looking over his shoulder and smacking his lips a last time.

When Merlin turned to face Arthur again, he was fighting to hold back a smile. Merlin flicked his shoulder and Arthur let out the roar of laughter he’d been holding in.

“Shut up. People talk to their pets, you know. And cats are much less intelligent than monkeys.”

“I doubt they have cat ears and whiskers though.”

Merlin ignored him, just took a swig from his water bottle.

“Who’s Percival?” Arthur asked after a few moments.

“That’s the zoo’s only gorilla. He’s outside.”

“You can’t really put the other monkeys in there with him, can you?”

“Shh!” Merlin looked around worriedly. “They don’t know that,” he whispered and Arthur laughed again.

“You’re hilarious, monkey boy.” Arthur ruffled Merlin’s hair. Merlin’s tail twitched as he tried to reflexively swat Arthur’s hand away with it. “I can’t wait to meet your mum so she can tell me all about Curious Merlin.”

Merlin groaned but reluctantly admitted, “Her birthday is coming up next month. She’s been asking if I’m seeing anyone.”

“She doesn’t know?” Arthur looked shocked. “Merlin, we’ve been together over a month.”

“I wanted to be sure. I didn’t want to get her hopes up.”

“Hers or yours?”

Merlin lowered his head and tried to hide his face. “I might have been a little worried you’d leave as well,” he said quietly.

“ _Mer_ lin.” Arthur was about to say more but his mobile vibrated in his pocket. He looked at it and swore. “I’ve got to go.” He stood up and tossed the remains of his lunch. “I’ve sort of been hesitant to say this, but now it looks as though you need me to.”

Merlin’s brow furrowed and he worried what it was Arthur had to say.

Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I love you.”

Merlin squeaked and Arthur’s eyes snapped open. “Sorry! That was a happy noise, not a panicked noise.”

Arthur’s responding smile lit up his face. “You’re such a girl, Merlin. Text me the date of your mother’s birthday. I’m off.”

He leaned in for a quick kiss and Merlin grabbed his neck to keep him there.

“I love you too. Just so you know,” Merlin said against his lips.

“Of course you do. Now, I really do have to go...”

“Alright, go on then.” Merlin let him go and Arthur straightened. “I suppose I should warn my mum about how much of a prat you are.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Merlin, parents love me,” Arthur threw over his shoulder as he left.


	6. Chapter 6

“Merlin, I _love_ your boyfriend,” Hunith whispered as Arthur looked at the younger versions of Merlin scattered about the living room.

“Mum, do I really need to tell you what’s wrong with that statement?” Merlin whispered back.

Arthur had only just literally walked in and handed Hunith her birthday present (a prepaid day at the spa) when Hunith gestured him forward and he went to look for evidence of Curious Merlin.

“Prime teasing material,” Arthur had claimed on the car ride over. “For when you’re nagging about my straightening up after you and making fun of my anagrams.”

“I do not nag! And when have I ever made fun of your anagrams?”

Arthur had given Merlin a look. Ever since Merlin found the first notebook filled with anagrams and palindromes in the glove compartment of Arthur’s auto, he’d asked Arthur all sorts of questions about words and how he managed to figure them out. Arthur had said he didn’t know, that it was something he did when he was anxious, something his obsessive compulsive brain just _did_ effortlessly. Once Merlin had found out, it was like a bottle had been uncorked. Any time Arthur was the least bit nervous, he’d no longer hold himself back, but would start anagramming anything Merlin said.

Still, it wasn’t “making fun of.” It was simply curiosity.

Now Arthur was on a mission to find something to hold over Merlin’s head, as if his simian outbursts when they fucked wasn’t enough. He had even jokingly said he would invest in a large yellow hat, and Merlin had drained of colour just thinking about it.

“You know what I mean,” Hunith replied. “He’s quite a gentleman, isn’t he?”

Merlin fought the urge to roll his eyes. “This isn’t Elizabethan times, Mum. I believe the term you’re looking for is ‘posh.’”

“I heard that,” Arthur called from the other room. He stuck his head into the corridor where they were speaking with a victorious smile. “And I found it,” he sing-songed.

Merlin narrowed his eyes. “Found what?”

Arthur held out a frame. From behind the glass, a ten-year-old Merlin was hanging upside down in a tree—hanging from his legs because it was broad daylight and in the middle of the park—with his arms swinging below his head. His shirt was half-way down his chest, revealing his pale stomach, and he had a wide grin on his face.

“Oh my God,” Merlin groaned.

“Your ears, mate—”

“Don’t even start,” Merlin warned with a threatening finger.

“And your _teeth_. Tell me you’d just lost one or two when this was taken.”

Merlin frowned and looked at the photo more closely. “Erm...this must have been before the braces.”

“ _Braces_?” Arthur’s eyes lit up.

“Oh no, don’t even think about—”

Arthur had already turned on his heel and went in search of more incriminating photos. And Hunith, Merlin’s so-called supporting mother, just laughed.

Merlin darted into the living room just as Arthur exclaimed triumphantly. “Oh my God, Merlin. _Merlin_.”

“Shut up.”

Arthur held up Merlin’s school photo. “Oh, but Merlin, look. Just _look_ at you.”

“I’d really rather not. I already had to live through it once.”

Arthur laughed and shrugged. “Fair enough. They do look rather painful.”

Merlin ran his tongue over his teeth and struggled not to cringe at the memory.

“He had to have them on for years, too,” Hunith said, and Merlin looked at her, betrayed. “Even through college. Terrible overjet on this one, and horribly wide gaps. It’s a miracle what they did with them.”

Arthur set the photo down and tilted his head to regard Merlin as if seeing him for the first time. “I never even really paid attention to your teeth, actually.”

“Yes, well, I expect the tail was a bit of a distraction,” Merlin muttered.

“You’d think as much as I kiss you, I would notice such things.”

“Arthur!” Merlin looked pointedly at his mum.

“Oh please, Merlin, we’re all adults here. I’m not completely ignorant of what goes on in a relationship,” Hunith remarked. “You exist, don’t you?”

“Exactly,” Arthur nodded. “Shall I tell her about the noises you make when I—”

“No!” Merlin flushed scarlet.

Hunith didn’t seem the least bit put off. In fact, she joined Arthur in his laughter. “Does he still screech?” she asked. “He used to make these terribly loud noises whenever he didn’t get what he wanted. All my friends would complain about their children crying and throwing tantrums, when little Merlin here was wailing as though I’d plucked him right from the jungle. Oh, the complaints we’d get!” Hunith laughed again at the memory. “Neighbours kept showing up demanding I turn down the telly. I had to tell them I was watching the nature channel, you see, or else they’d think I'd stolen a monkey from the zoo.”

“Mum, please...” Merlin looked mortified.

“No, no, do keep going, Ms Emrys,” Arthur encouraged her with a charmingly posh smile. Merlin glared at him.

“Well, when Merlin was twelve, he started growing facial hair. I had a feeling he’d start early, and there’s never been a Mr Emrys so I had to teach him to shave myself...”

Merlin put his face in his palm and groaned. “Kill me now.”

*

“Merlin, I _love_ your mum,” Arthur said when they were finally in the car again and ready to leave.

“Oh yeah? Anagram this: you’re a prat.” Merlin crossed his arms and stared moodily out the window.

“Are you rapt,” Arthur said automatically and started the ignition. He frowned and couldn’t help but keep going, even though he knew Merlin was being facetious. His brain wouldn’t let him stop. “Tear your pa, pray to Reau,” he said under his breath as he put the car in reverse. “Rape our Tay, rear at you.”

“Arthur, stop.”

“Rats hop rut, port uh star. Are you genuinely angry with me, Merlin?” He interrupted his ritual to ask. By the look on his face, Merlin could tell Arthur was concerned he had really hurt his feelings. “Pat rot rush, rush to part.”

Merlin sighed. If Arthur was so anxious that he couldn’t help anagramming, then he really _was_ worried that he’d hurt Merlin’s feelings. Merlin wasn’t truly angry, just a little annoyed. And a lot embarrassed.

It wouldn’t do to have Arthur get them in an auto crash just because Merlin had started him down this road in the first place.

“No, Arthur, I’m not angry,” he sighed again and tried to muster a convincing smile for Arthur’s sake.

Arthur breathed easier and Merlin could see the tension visibly leave him. “You’d tell me if I went too far, right? I would never…it was all in good fun, you know.”

“I know. I’m just strange about this sort of thing. It’s nice to have someone who knows and can joke about it, but it’s also too much like my worst nightmare. I’d always worry about kids at school finding out and…I didn’t really have any friends to begin with and…” Merlin suddenly couldn’t talk properly around the lump in his throat. He could feel pressure building behind his eyes and blinked hard to force back tears. He would _not_ cry, not over something so utterly stupid.

“Merlin?” Arthur glanced at him from the driver’s seat.

“I’m fine. I just…Yeah, I’d tell you if you went too far.” He left it at that and Arthur didn’t pry.

“Did you still want me to stay over?” Arthur asked when he pulled up in front Merlin’s building.

“Of course.” It was Friday and Merlin would never pass up the opportunity to wake up and stay in bed with Arthur on a Saturday morning. Arthur parked as Merlin hid his tail away then they went inside.

Merlin’s flat had undergone major changes in the two months he and Arthur had been together. Merlin wouldn’t let Arthur move the furniture or the loo setup, but he did let him reorganise the kitchen and buy new shelves to hold various items in the living room.

When Arthur entered Merlin’s flat, he only barely hid his frown of disapproval. He went straight to tidying up Merlin’s carelessly tossed mail and shoes, even placed the television clicker in the very centre of the coffee table.

There were times when Arthur’s anxious cleaning was endearing and times when it was just bothersome. Now it was the latter. Merlin just wanted to lay down and go to sleep.

Merlin put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder and Arthur stilled. He slid his hand down Arthur’s whole arm until he grabbed hold of Arthur’s hand and began pulling him towards the bedroom. Arthur let himself be dragged away.

When Merlin didn’t turn the light on, and instead just started taking off his clothes, he figured Arthur should know that it wasn’t to be that kind of night, that he was too exhausted for sex. But Arthur didn’t seem to get the hint; he wrapped his arms around Merlin from behind and buried his nose in Merlin’s hair. Merlin was too fatigued to do anything but let him.

And it wasn’t that it was bad. Merlin actually liked being taken care of sometimes, when he was limp and boneless. But that was always after they’d nearly shagged each other’s brains out. Now he was just a puppet for Arthur to do with what he would.

Arthur let Merlin go and Merlin slid into bed while Arthur undressed. He was nearly asleep when Arthur finally got under the duvet next to him, and only grunted when Arthur began palming his crotch.

“Arthur,” Merlin groaned drowsily. “‘M tired.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he breathed in Merlin’s ear. “Please?”

“Mmm, fine. As long as you don’t expect me to move.”

“All you have to do is lay there.”

Merlin yawned. “‘Kay.”

Merlin did have to move a little, just lift his hips a bit so Arthur could get his pants off, but after that, it really was as if he was Arthur’s puppet. Arthur stretched him open slowly and methodically, the feeling like a physical lullaby on Merlin’s exhausted body.

Then Arthur slid into him, hot and thick, and Merlin didn’t want him to leave. Arthur’s cock was like a pacifier that Merlin’s arse wanted to suck inside and never let go.

Arthur was true to his word, and fucked Merlin slow and gentle. Merlin simply lay there, cheek pressed against his pillow, and made a few gasping noises every now and then. Arthur kept himself flush against Merlin’s back, cautious of the tail, rocking back and forth in and out of Merlin in a steady rhythm as he sucked Merlin’s neck.

Merlin only noticed Arthur wasn’t wearing a condom when he felt Arthur’s come leaking out of him and dripping down his thigh. He didn’t mind, though, was beyond caring at this point, and let himself drift asleep.

He was teetering between dream and reality when he heard Arthur anagramming softly again. Even half-asleep he could tell the difference between nervous and idle anagramming though.

“My milli never rose, Elmry lives in Rome, yore miner miles lev...”

“Mmph,” Merlin grunted, wordlessly asking what phrase Arthur was mixing up this time. Or maybe he was telling Arthur to shut up and let him sleep. It was either or at this point.

Arthur kissed the back of Merlin’s neck before curling around him and answering, “I love Merlin Emrys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind me, just indulging my brain with some fluff.  
> And maybe some light somnophilia xP


	7. Chapter 7

Merlin loved waking up next to Arthur. He loved feeling Arthur’s solid warmth beside him and snaking his tail around Arthur’s waist to keep him close. He loved listening to Arthur’s steady breathing just a short distance away. He loved how Arthur’s arm draped lovingly across his body even in sleep.

He did _not_ like waking up with dried come chafing between his legs.

“Arthur,” Merlin groaned, drawing out the name groggily. He rubbed his eyes and blinked open, shifting uncomfortably at the mess on his skin. " _Arthur_ ,” he repeated, thumping Arthur with his tail for good measure.

Arthur snapped awake and flailed, crushing Merlin’s tail beneath his weight. Merlin screeched and Arthur jerked backwards at the sound, falling out of Merlin’s narrow bed when he forgot it wasn’t nearly as large as his own.

“Ow,” Arthur said miserably from the floor.

Merlin leaned over the side of the bed and grinned sheepishly at Arthur rubbing his elbow. “Sorry. Was just trying to wake you up.”

“Congratulations, Merlin. I’m up.” Arthur moved to stand and winced at the pain in his arse. “And sore, by the way. You and your stupid bunk bed.”

Merlin gave another apologetic smile and Arthur got to his feet. Merlin scooted back to give Arthur enough room to climb back in the bed, but they remained on top of the duvet.

“So,” Arthur began, with a sigh, “what did you wake me for, then?”

Merlin spread his legs and pointed to the evidence. “Care to explain why I woke up like this?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow and trailed a finger through the flaky residue of his orgasm on the inside of Merlin’s thighs. “Hmm. You mean to say you don’t recall me fucking you last night?”

Merlin shivered as Arthur’s finger danced playfully around his opening. “I-I do recall. But I thought you’d at least have to decency to—”

“It’s nothing a shower can’t fix, Merlin.”

Merlin pouted. “I know. But I was looking forward to just staying in bed and relaxing for a while, and I can’t do that if I have to get up and take a shower first, now can I?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Merlin, you’re such a girl. It’s not like the bed won’t still be here when you get back.” He let his finger drift closer to Merlin’s hole and in a swift movement inserted it in just past the fingernail. Merlin’s stomach flipped and his breath hitched. “Then I can dirty you up again, yeah?” Arthur suggested with a triumphant smile.

Merlin was torn between the desire to call Arthur an insufferable prat and his animal instinct to crawl on top and start grinding down on him. As Arthur so obviously knew from two months of previous experience, Merlin could never stay mad when offered the chance to shag his brains out.

Still, Merlin bit his lip and tried to breathe calmly through his nose. He would not let Arthur win, he would not—

Arthur’s thumb moved steadily from Merlin’s perineum up the length of his rapidly filling cock, and that...Merlin was _done_.

“God, I hate you so much,” Merlin growled and swung a leg over Arthur’s waist to straddle him.

Arthur only laughed and bucked his hips up. “Says your mouth. Your cock says otherwise.”

Merlin attached his lips to Arthur’s neck and sucked. Arthur kept rolling his hips for friction and squeezed Merlin’s arse hard enough to leave hand-shaped imprints on the pale skin. Their cocks rubbed against each other on their stomachs, and Merlin wanted to stay in this moment in time forever.

Then Arthur did something he rarely did during sex, which was _touch Merlin’s tail._

It wasn’t like the other times, not like the first night when he’d caressed his face with the soft black fur. This time he took it between his fingers, just the first two and his thumb, and stroked right near the base where it flared outward, the same way he might stroke Merlin’s cock. And it felt amazing. Merlin had nerve endings there he hadn’t even been aware of, and since it was right at the base of his spine, electric jolts of pleasure shot straight up through his whole body. He whined at the blissful sensation.

“Like that, do you?” Arthur said hot in his ear.

Arthur’s fingers added just a slight bit of pressure as he did it again and Merlin moaned. “Yes, _Arthur_.” The muscles in his thighs flexed as he grinded down harder against Arthur beneath him.

“Does my randy little monkey boy like this?” Arthur tugged just a little bit harder and—

“Yeah, fuck—” Merlin’s tail lashed out against the wall and he climaxed with his teeth biting down into Arthur’s neck so hard Arthur himself cried out. When Merlin went limp, Arthur snaked a hand between their bodies to wrap around his cock and thrust his hips up until he finally came as well.

Merlin eventually got enough strength back to slide off Arthur and onto his own side of the narrow bed. “Can we make that shower a bath?” he asked breathlessly.

Arthur immediately wrinkled his nose in disgust. “No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because it’s unsanitary.”

Merlin raised his head and studied Arthur’s face a moment. “Is this another OCD thing?”

Arthur sputtered. “I know plenty of people that prefer showers to baths, for your information! Just because I happen to think sitting around in dirty water isn’t exactly an effective way of getting clean doesn’t make it an—”

“Alright, alright!” Merlin chuckled. “Shower it is, then.”

Merlin crawled over Arthur to slide off the bed and landed neatly on the balls of his feet. He was halfway to the loo when Arthur sighed and followed him.

*

“Something’s bothering you,” Merlin said when he set Arthur’s tea in front of him. They had showered and spent a lazy hour in bed before Arthur’s stomach growled and Merlin decided it was time for breakfast.

Arthur looked up from his toast and eggs. “Hm?”

“You’ve been weird ever since we showered.” Merlin sat down across from him and began picking at his own plate. “You’re clearly thinking about something important.” He took a bite and waited patiently for Arthur to tell him, his tail swinging leisurely behind his chair.

Arthur pushed his eggs around with his fork. “Are you sure my OCD doesn’t bother you?”

Merlin froze, his second bite halfway to his mouth. “You’re kidding, right?”

Arthur didn’t meet Merlin’s incredulous stare, which was answer enough for Merlin.

“Did I do something wrong?” Merlin put his fork down. “Did I say anything to make you think—”

“No, no, it’s not...” Arthur’s brow furrowed as he looked for the right words. “I know I can be a bit annoying sometimes with my need for order and my rituals when I get nervous and—”

“Arthur. Stop.”

Arthur shook his head. “No, just...let me do this. I’m trying to say something here.”

“Okay.”

But Arthur didn’t say anything. He frowned at his breakfast—which Merlin thought must surely be cold by now—and then took a long sip of his tea. He chewed his lip thoughtfully and Merlin continued to eat while Arthur considered the right words. When Merlin had finished his entire meal and Arthur still hadn’t said anything, he figured he could at least give Arthur a few words of encouragement.

“Are you...worried about something?”

“Yes,” Arthur said immediately, clearly glad for _something_ he could say.

“Alright. What about?”

“You like me well enough now, but if we had to see each other every day instead of just casually dating...”

“You think I’ll get tired of you?”

“More like I think my OCD really will start to get on your nerves.”

“So...you’re worried that if we see more of each other I’ll like you less because you’ll be more annoying? How does that—”

“I want you to move in with me.” Arthur said, still not meeting Merlin’s gaze. Merlin was too shocked to immediately reply, which Arthur obviously misunderstood because he kept rambling on. “I know you hate how I mess with your flat even now, so to live with me would probably be unbearable, and—”

Merlin stood without warning and Arthur fell silent immediately. Merlin went to kneel beside him and didn’t speak until Arthur finally looked at him. “Arthur, you’re so incredibly stupid,” he said softly. “I _want_ to live with you.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” Merlin sighed, exasperated. “There’s no need to get so worked up about it, do you understand? Don’t ever be anxious or nervous with regards to me, because I’ve told you a thousand times already how much I love you.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just...it’s only been two months and I thought you might think it too soon. But I’m serious about you, I haven’t been more serious about anything in my entire life.”

Merlin put his hand on Arthur’s arm. “Do you remember the first night we had sex?”

That put a smile on Arthur’s face. “Of course.”

“I made my choice that night, Arthur. I wouldn’t have let you take me if I didn’t think I’d be spending the rest of my life with you,” he admitted. “Besides, where else am I going to find someone who’s okay with _this_?” He gestured to his tail.

“So all that time you made me wait...?”

Merlin nodded. “It was mostly because I wanted to make sure our relationship wasn’t purely physical. And that you wouldn’t, er, take advantage of my sudden urges.”

Arthur’s grin widened. “You mean your need to fuck like the sexual deviant you are?”

“Yes, you prat, _that_.” Merlin exhaled shortly. “I mean it, though. I’d love to live with you, and I promise never to get angry as long as you keep a consistent supply of bananas stocked in the kitchen.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Arthur chuckled.

“Great.” Merlin got to his feet. “So...celebratory sex?”

Arthur rolled his eyes but let Merlin straddle him in the chair nonetheless. “Randy little monkey boy,” he muttered.


End file.
